Best online stock brokers in the UK (compared in 2026)

Interactive Brokers leads our list as the best online broker in the UK.

Founded in 1978, Interactive Brokers is one of the largest international brokers, listed on Nasdaq (ticker: IBKR) and part of the S&P 500 since 2025. UK clients are served by Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited, authorised and regulated by the FCA, and there is no minimum deposit.

IBKR suits both beginners and experienced investors who want a genuinely broad product range (stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, forex, mutual funds and crypto) across 160+ markets, with advanced research tools and strong educational content.

For UK investors, Interactive Brokers offers a Stocks and Shares ISA and a SIPP, so you can invest through the standard UK tax wrappers rather than only a general investment account. Fractional shares are not available in the ISA.

You can hold several base currencies, including GBP, USD and EUR, and fund by bank transfer. With tiered pricing, UK shares cost from 0.05% of trade value and US shares from $0.0035 per share ($0.35 minimum). Currency conversion costs about 0.002% (minimum $2), far cheaper than the 0.5% to 1.5% typical at UK investment platforms, which matters if you buy US-listed shares regularly.

For investing on the go, the IBKR Mobile app offers advanced functionality, while IBKR GlobalTrader is a simpler app for global trading with fractional shares from $1 and a demo account.

On the downside, the number of features can feel overwhelming, especially if you are new to investing. IBKR offsets this with extensive educational content through IBKR Campus.

Want to know more? Read our comprehensive Interactive Brokers review.

Another strong platform available in the UK is eToro, an international broker listed on Nasdaq (ticker: ETOR) since May 2025. It is best known for its social trading feature, which lets you copy the trades of experienced investors through CopyTrader, filtering Popular Investors by past returns, risk score, drawdown and other published metrics.

The platform gives access to thousands of instruments, including real stocks and ETFs from the London Stock Exchange, the US and major European exchanges. You can also invest in Smart Portfolios, ready-made thematic allocations around themes such as AI, renewable energy or dividends.

eToro offers commission-free real stock and ETF investing (other fees apply), with whole or fractional shares. UK clients can now open a GBP account, which avoids converting every deposit and withdrawal to dollars, and eToro launched its own commission-free Stocks and Shares ISA in 2026.

Opening an account is straightforward, and you can practise first with a $100,000 virtual demo account. On the downside, spreads can be relatively high on some products, and there is a $10 monthly inactivity fee after 12 months without logging in.

UK clients are served by eToro (UK) Ltd, authorised and regulated by the FCA, with FSCS protection up to £85,000.

To learn more, read our eToro review.

Founded in 2016, Capital.com is a CFD and spread betting platform that has grown quickly thanks to its commission-free model and user-friendly technology. It offers CFDs on forex, shares, indices and commodities, spread betting and a 1X account for CFD trading without leverage.

You can trade through its own web platform and mobile app, which include AI-driven insights and risk management tools, or through TradingView and MT4, where you can run automated strategies. A free demo account lets you practise before trading with real money.

Capital.com doesn’t charge commission on trades. Its costs are in the spread (the difference between buy and sell prices), which changes with market conditions, plus fees for guaranteed stop-loss orders and overnight funding on leveraged positions held overnight.

On the downside, like other CFD-only brokers, it is not suitable if you want to own real shares or ETFs, hold bonds, or invest through an ISA or pension.

UK clients are served by Capital Com (UK) Limited, regulated by the FCA (firm reference number 793714). It holds client money in segregated accounts, provides negative balance protection for retail clients, and eligible clients are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000.

Capital.com suits traders looking for commission-free CFD trading (other fees may apply), spread betting and unleveraged CFDs.

Founded in 2002 in Warsaw and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, XTB is a major European broker with more than 1 million active clients. UK clients are served by XTB Limited, regulated by the FCA, and XTB is also supervised by the KNF in Poland and CySEC in Cyprus.

You can invest through xStation 5 and the xStation mobile app in stocks, ETFs, forex, indices, commodities, crypto CFDs and vanilla options (added in early 2026). MetaTrader is no longer offered. XTB offers a flexible Stocks and Shares ISA with the following features:

• More than 3,000 stocks and 700 ETFs with 0% commission up to monthly turnover of €100,000 (0.2% above that, with a £10 minimum). A 0.5% currency conversion fee applies when you buy assets in another currency.
• Interest on uninvested GBP cash, calculated daily and paid monthly. Rates follow Bank of England policy, so check the current rate on XTB’s website.
• As a flexible ISA, you can withdraw money and put it back in the same tax year without using up more of your annual allowance.

Opening an account and funding it is quick and fully online. Beginners get a demo account and the XTB Trading Academy, while xStation 5 offers a comprehensive set of technical and fundamental tools for more advanced investors.

On the downside, XTB charges a £10 monthly inactivity fee, but only if you haven’t opened or closed a position in 12 months and haven’t made a deposit in the last 90 days. Crypto CFDs have relatively wide spreads, though forex pricing is competitive.

Want to know more? Read our XTB review.

Founded in Melbourne in 2010, Pepperstone has become one of the largest independent forex and CFD brokers, with more than 900,000 accounts across the group as of March 2026. UK clients are served by Pepperstone Limited, authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 684312, and eligible client assets are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000.

Before going further, one key point separates Pepperstone from most brokers on this list: you cannot buy real shares here. Everything Pepperstone offers UK clients is a spread bet or a CFD, so you never own the underlying asset. There is no ISA, no SIPP, no real dividends and no shareholder rights. For a long-term portfolio, choose one of the other brokers. Pepperstone is on this list because, for active traders, especially in forex, it is one of the strongest packages available to UK clients.

UK traders get three account types: a spread betting account and two CFD accounts, Standard and Razor. The only difference is how you pay. Standard adds a mark-up to the raw spread, with no separate commission on forex, indices or commodities. Razor gives you raw spreads (from 0.0 pips on forex) plus a fixed commission (£2.25 per lot per side on GBP accounts, $3.50 on USD accounts). Razor is cheaper for most active traders, and the gap grows the more you trade.

The UK tax treatment is a real advantage of spread betting: profits are currently exempt from capital gains tax and stamp duty, depending on your circumstances and future changes in tax law. CFDs are exempt from stamp duty but subject to capital gains tax.

Pepperstone stands out for platform choice: alongside its own web platform and app, it supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView, and no other broker in this article offers all four. If you run an Expert Advisor or a cBot, or you already analyse the markets in TradingView, that alone can settle the decision. Scalping, hedging and automated trading are all permitted.

Non-trading costs are low: there are no inactivity, deposit or withdrawal fees, and GBP is available as a base currency. What does add up is overnight funding, charged on positions held past 5 pm New York time. Pepperstone also offers 24/5 spread bets and CFDs on 100+ US shares, so you can react to earnings and news outside regular market hours.

As an FCA-regulated firm, Pepperstone applies the UK retail rules: leverage is capped from 30:1 on major currency pairs down to 2:1 on crypto, with negative balance protection and a 50% margin close-out rule.

Founded in 2017 in the US and launched in the UK in July 2023, Webull entered the British market with a low-cost offer focused on US stocks and options, alongside a GBP savings account. New users can claim a signup bonus.

UK users get a demo account to practise under realistic conditions. Deposits are accepted in pounds only, so buying US stocks, which trade in dollars, incurs a 0.35% currency conversion fee. Each trade also carries a 0.025% commission, so you pay roughly 0.375% per transaction, plus small regulatory fees.

That structure matters: because the FX charge applies both when you buy and when you sell, a round trip on a US stock costs about 0.75% before any price movement. For frequent traders or regular monthly investors, that adds up quickly compared with brokers charging a tiny fraction of a percent for conversion.

Fractional shares are a genuine advantage, since many US stocks trade at high prices per share. However, the narrow product range is a real limitation, and Webull UK only offers a general investment account, with no Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP. For UK investors, that matters: outside a tax wrapper, gains above the annual capital gains tax exemption and dividends above the dividend allowance are taxable, which over time can outweigh the low trading costs.

Webull UK is authorised and regulated by the FCA, and eligible client assets and cash are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000.

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is a CFD broker listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: PLUS) and a FTSE 250 constituent, a useful signal of scale and disclosure standards for UK investors.

For UK clients, Plus500 offers CFDs only on forex, indices, shares, commodities, options, ETFs and crypto: its Plus500 Invest service for real shares is not available in the UK. Its main strength for this list is its free, unlimited demo account, which lets you practise on the full platform with virtual money before risking anything.

The proprietary WebTrader platform and mobile app are simple and stable, and customer support is available via chat inside the platform. Accounts are available in several base currencies, including GBP, so you can avoid converting deposits. Plus500 charges a currency conversion fee of up to 0.7% on trades in other currencies, a $10 monthly inactivity fee after three months without logging in, and overnight funding on positions held overnight. It offers guaranteed stop orders on many instruments.

UK clients are served by Plus500UK Ltd, authorised and regulated by the FCA, with FSCS protection up to £85,000. Plus500 does not offer an ISA.

Want to know more? Read our Plus500 review.

Launched in 1992 in Copenhagen, Saxo (formerly Saxo Bank) is one of the most established brokers in Europe. Since March 2026, it has been majority-owned by the Swiss private banking group J. Safra Sarasin, which in July 2026 agreed to acquire the remaining stake. Saxo serves more than a million clients and gives access to over 70,000 instruments through two platforms:

• SaxoInvestor: a simple investing platform for web and mobile covering stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and bonds, suited to long-term, buy-and-hold investors.
• SaxoTrader: the advanced platform for web, mobile and desktop, covering the full product range including margin and leveraged products, with multi-screen workspaces, Level 2 order book data and bulk position management.

One Saxo account gives you access to both platforms. Saxo does not offer direct crypto trading, only crypto ETPs and CFDs, and integrates with third-party tools such as TradingView.

Saxo’s account tiers:

• Classic: no minimum deposit, with competitive pricing and standard support.
• Platinum: for portfolios of £200,000 or more, with lower trading costs and priority support.
• VIP: for portfolios of £1,000,000 or more, with the best pricing and direct access to trading specialists.

Tiers are based on portfolio value, so you can reach them through portfolio growth as well as deposits.

Pricing depends on your tier: a US stock order costs 0.08% of the trade value (minimum $1) on Classic and 0.03% (minimum $1) on VIP. UK investors can also open a Stocks and Shares ISA and a SIPP with Saxo.

UK clients are served by Saxo Capital Markets UK Limited, authorised and regulated by the FCA, and eligible clients are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000.

Freetrade is a UK investing app founded in 2016 and owned by IG Group (FTSE 250) since April 2025. It lets you invest commission-free in more than 6,000 UK, US and European stocks, as well as ETFs, investment trusts, mutual funds and gilts.

Since January 2026, its free Basic plan includes the Stocks and Shares ISA, Junior ISA and SIPP, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to invest through a UK tax wrapper. The paid plans (Standard and Plus) now mainly buy a lower FX fee and a higher interest rate on cash: on Basic, buying a US stock costs a 0.99% FX fee, far more than at Trading 212 or Interactive Brokers.

Freetrade keeps things simple: there are no CFDs, no leverage and no day-trading features, and the app is remarkably easy to use. The main drawbacks are the FX fee on the free plan and the limited range compared with full-service brokers (no options, forex or crypto).

Founded in 2004 in Bulgaria and based in London since 2016, Trading 212 aims to make investing simple through its mobile app and web platform. UK clients are served by Trading 212 UK Ltd, regulated by the FCA.

With Trading 212, you get commission-free stocks and ETFs (other fees may apply, see terms and fees), fractional shares and Pies and AutoInvest, which let you set up a portfolio and invest in it automatically on a schedule. UK clients can use a Stocks and Shares ISA and a Cash ISA, and Trading 212 pays interest on uninvested cash. There is no SIPP, and there are no bonds or options. A 0.15% FX fee applies when you buy assets in a currency other than your account currency.

Opening an account is quick and easy, and new users can get one free fractional share worth up to £100.

To learn more, read our Trading 212 review.

InvestEngine is a UK investment platform founded in 2016 and focused entirely on ETFs. Its DIY service charges no platform fee, no commission and no FX fee on its GBP-listed ETF range, making it one of the cheapest ETF platforms in the UK. With fractional investing, you can put as little as £1 into any of its 550+ ETFs once your account is open.

Its tools make ETF investing easy: smart orders calculate the trades needed to match your target weights, the Portfolio Look-through shows your exposure by company, sector and region, AutoInvest puts new cash to work automatically, and one-click rebalancing resets your portfolio to your target allocation.

If you prefer a hands-off approach, InvestEngine offers managed portfolios for different risk levels for 0.25% a year. You can invest through a general account, a Stocks and Shares ISA or a SIPP, with a £100 minimum to start, and eligible investments are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000.

Read our InvestEngine review for further analysis.